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History of video games/Platforms/Arduboy

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  • An Arduboy from the front and back.
    An Arduboy from the front and back.

History edit

Development edit

 
The electronics hub of Shenzhen, China, the location of the HAX accelerator.

The first version of the Arduboy was made in February 2014.[1] By March 2014 the 1.6 millimeter thick Bateske Arduboy was shown off online as a business card that plays a clone of Tetris and goes viral.[2][3]

In January 2015 the creator of the Arduboy quits their job and moves to China to begin working in a co-working space at hardware accelerator HAX in Shenzhen, China.[3][1] Interestingly, Bunnie Huang, a key developer of the earlier MOMA handheld game console, would serve as a HAX partner,[4] though it is unknown if there was any deeper connection with the Arduboy. By May 2015 the Arduboy Kickstarted is launched, receiving four times their funding goal on the first day.[3][5]

In February 2016, the production version of the Arduboy Schematic was released.[6] Around that time, production of the Arduboy was handled by a factory operated by SEEED Studio.[7]

Launch edit

 
Portland, Oregon in 2018 - the city where Arduboy is based out of.[8]

The Arduboy was launched in August 2016.[9][3]

A version of the Arduboy called the Tetris Microcard was launched in April 2017 at a cost of $54, and was built around an officially licensed Tetris Game.[10][3]

In April 2019, Kevin Bates demonstrated the Arduflexboy, a one off flexible version of the console.[11] Using a 2 layer flexible polyimide substrate PCB created with OSH Park services, the system was 2.5mm thick at it's deepest point.[11][12]. Despite its proof of concept status, it is perhaps one of the first game console models to be foldable.

The size reduced Arduboy Mini was announced on July 4th, 2019 with plans for a limited release.[13]

 
Roanoke Virginia, where an Arduboy workshop was held at the Roanoke Public Library.

In October 2019 the Arduboy was used in the Roanoke Public Library in Roanoke, Virginia for its first official use in an educational workshop.[14] The economic and logistic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected both shipping and the education program.[15]

By mid 2019, a community made cartridge system was developed for the console by making use of existing test pads,[16] leading to plans for an official expansion capable of handling multiple different games.[17] By November 1st, 2020 the Arduboy FX official modchips began shipping.[18] Seeed Studio was given an order for 1,000 Arduboy FX consoles by November 30th, 2020.[19] By March 4th, 2021 the chips had shipped, which included a 16 megabyte W25Q128 flash chip for keeping multiple applications loaded on the system storage at once.[20] The rear silkscreen of the FX module included community artwork.[17]

On February 1st, 2021 an Arduboy Nano was demonstrated, featuring the same compute resources as the full model in well under a square inch, but with only a 25mAh battery.[21]

Technology edit

Compute edit

The ArduBoy uses an ATmega32u4 clocked at 16 megahertz as it's processor.[6][22] The ATmega32u4 is an 8-bit AVR architecture CPU capable of 16 DMIPS of performance.[23]

The Arduboy has 2560 bytes (2.5 kilobytes) of SRAM.[24][23][23] The Aduboy has 32 kilobytes of flash program storage and one kilobyte of EEPROM.[24][23]

Hardware edit

The Arduboy uses an SSD1306 OLED display, a black and white display incapable of grayscale shades, and a resolution of 128 by 64 pixels.[24][22] The display uses horizontal addressing by default, but can also use vertical addressing.[25] For audio, the Arduboy has a piezo speaker with two channels for basic sounds.[24]

The Arduboy is powered by a 180 miliamp hour thin film lithium polymer battery.[22][1] The Bateske Arduboy business card was powered by a coin cell battery for around 9 hours.[2]

The Arduboy is five millimeters thick.[26] The Tetris Microcard has a thickness of about ten credit cards.[10] Both the Arduboy and the Tetris Microcard are designed to be stored in a wallet.[10][26]

Community Technology edit

A modified version of the Arduboy with a crank controller on the side was demonstrated on June 5th, 2019.[27][28]

A PCBless 3D printable design was demonstrated by a community member by February 2020.[29]

A number of community projects involved repurposing old hardware to function as Arduboys.[30][31][32][33]

Games edit

Despite limited system capabilities, a number of games have been developed or ported to the system. While the system is optimized for 2D games, a few 3D games have been developed for the system.[25][34]

Open Source edit

MicroCity edit

A city simulation game with 3 terrains, eight buildings, and disasters.[35]

Mirco Arcade Series edit

Gallery edit

  •  
    An Arduboy
  •  
    An Arduboy running Mystic Balloon.
  •  
    Gameplay from an Arduboy tower defense game.
  •  
    The Tetris Microcard.
  •  
    An Arduboy compared to other open consoles Pokitto and Gamebuino.

External Resources edit

 

Wikipedia has related information at Arduboy

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arduboy

References edit

  1. ↑ a b c "Arduboy - Card Sized Gaming". Kickstarter. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  2. ↑ a b "Make an Awesome First Impression With a Tetris-Playing Business Card". Gizmodo. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c d e "The Arduboy History". Arduboy. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Andrew Huang". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Arduboy is a credit card-size gaming backup for your iPhone". Cult of Mac. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  6. ↑ a b "Production Arduboy Schematic". Arduboy. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  7. ↑ "Arduboy Production Interviews". Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Arduboy". Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "Adafruit PyGamer". Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  10. ↑ a b c "Playing Tetris on a Business Card Is Everything I Hoped It Would Be [Updated]". Gizmodo. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  11. ↑ a b "Arduboy Goes Thin And Flexible For Portable Gaming". Hackaday. 18 April 2019. https://hackaday.com/2019/04/18/arduboy-goes-thin-and-flexible-for-portable-gaming/. 
  12. ↑ "Introducing the “Arduflexboy”" (in en). OSH Park. 12 April 2019. https://blog.oshpark.com/2019/04/12/introducing-the-arduflexboy/. 
  13. ↑ "Arduboy Mini (coming soon)". Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "Classroom: Roanoke Public Library". Arduboy. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  15. ↑ "2020 Status Update". Arduboy. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "The ArduBoy Community Rolled Their Own Cartridge". Hackaday. 7 June 2019. https://hackaday.com/2019/06/07/the-arduboy-community-rolled-their-own-cartridge/. 
  17. ↑ a b "Official Arduboy Upgrade Module Nears Competition". Hackaday. 4 August 2020. https://hackaday.com/2020/08/04/official-arduboy-upgrade-module-nears-competition/. 
  18. ↑ "Arduboy FX Status – November". Arduboy. https://arduboy.com/arduboy-fx-status-november/. 
  19. ↑ "Arduboy FX Status – December". Arduboy. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  20. ↑ "Arduboy FX Mod-Chip: Now You’re Playing With Power". Hackaday. 4 March 2021. https://hackaday.com/2021/03/04/arduboy-fx-mod-chip-now-youre-playing-with-power/. 
  21. ↑ "Arduboy Nano a game system for ANTS!". Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  22. ↑ a b c "Arduboy – Kickstarter Arduboy". Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  23. ↑ a b c d "ATmega32U4 - 8-bit AVR Microcontrollers". www.microchip.com. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  24. ↑ a b c d "The Arduboy is a tiny gaming handheld that fits in your wallet". The Daily Dot. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  25. ↑ a b "The Arduboy, Ported To Desktop And Back Again". Hackaday. 18 July 2019. https://hackaday.com/2019/07/18/the-arduboy-ported-to-desktop-and-back-again/. 
  26. ↑ a b "A Tiny Video Game-Playing Business Card You Can Smuggle In Your Wallet". Gizmodo. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Tacklebox Reel Pro". Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  28. ↑ "The Arduboy Gets A Crank Mod". Hackaday. 2 July 2019. https://hackaday.com/2019/07/02/the-arduboy-gets-a-crank-mod/. 
  29. ↑ "3D Printing For Wire Paths Yields An Arduboy Minus The PCB". Hackaday. 9 February 2020. https://hackaday.com/2020/02/08/3d-printing-for-wire-paths-yields-an-arduboy-minus-the-pcb/. 
  30. ↑ "Arduboy Classic Plays On Original Game Boy Screen". Hackaday. 18 August 2015. https://hackaday.com/2015/08/18/arduboy-classic-plays-on-original-game-boy-screen/. 
  31. ↑ "FPGA Brings Arduboy To The Game Boy Advance". Hackaday. 21 February 2019. https://hackaday.com/2019/02/21/fpga-brings-arduboy-to-the-game-boy-advance/. 
  32. ↑ "Arduboy Brings New Life To Dreamcast VMU". Hackaday. 5 February 2019. https://hackaday.com/2019/02/04/arduboy-brings-new-life-to-dreamcast-vmu/. 
  33. ↑ "Classroom Gadget Turned Arduino Compatible". Hackaday. 22 July 2018. https://hackaday.com/2018/07/22/classroom-gadget-turned-arduino-compatible/. 
  34. ↑ "ARENA - Arduboy 3D Shooter" (in en). Arduboy. 13 November 2018. https://community.arduboy.com/t/arena-arduboy-3d-shooter/6737. 
  35. ↑ "MicroCity - City simulation in your pocket". Arduboy. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  36. ↑ "Arduboy – Oregon Trail Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  37. ↑ "Arduboy – Tetris Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  38. ↑ "Arduboy – Missile Command & Centipede Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  39. ↑ "Arduboy – Pac-Man Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  40. ↑ "Arduboy – Breakout & Asteroids Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  41. ↑ "Arduboy – DigDug Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  42. ↑ "Arduboy – Qbert Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  43. ↑ "Arduboy – Space Invaders Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  44. ↑ "Arduboy – Galaga Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  45. ↑ "Arduboy – Millipede & Combat Micro Arcade". Retrieved 10 November 2020.
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